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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China New Zealand (ICBC NZ) (A/A1) launched a NZ$75 million (US$52.7 million) floating-rate (FRN), three-year domestic deal on 6 June, with an indicative margin of 110 basis points over three-month bank bills. The forthcoming deal is expected to price the day after launch, via lead managers ANZ and Westpac New Zealand.
On 5 June, Meridian Energy (BBB+/S&P) began taking indications of interest for a NZ$150-200 million (US$105.4-140.6 million) seven-year domestic deal. The transaction is being offered to institutional and retail investors and is expected to open in the week beginning 11 June.
The key to unlocking a new level of green issuance in the Australian bond market could be a deeper understanding of the assets on banks’ balance sheets. Institutional assets lend themselves to classification and verification, while the potential of SME and household loans remains almost untapped.
Western Australia (WA)’s second state budget in eight months, delivered on 8 May, revealed promising signs of improvement for the state’s finances. In an address hosted by Western Australian Treasury Corporation in Sydney on 31 May, state treasurer Ben Wyatt cited public expense reform, improving commodity prices and the emergence of lithium as a major export, as key factors in what he describes as the best WA budget position across forward estimates since the 2012/13 budget.
On 4 June, Firstmac launched its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction, Firstmac Mortgage Funding Trust No.4 Series 2-2018. The deal is for a total volume of A$1 billion (US$756.4 million) and will not grow. The Class A1 notes have a volume of A$850 million and have been preplaced.
Housing New Zealand made a significant dent in its funding requirement at the beginning of June, printing NZ$500 million (US$349.6 million) in a dual-tranche offering. Meanwhile in Australia, Deutsche Bahn printed a A$206 million (US$155.5 million) 10-year Kangaroo deal and National Australia Bank started marketing a low-carbon shared-portfolio floating-rate notes deal.
On 1 June, Avanti Finance (Avanti) revealed plans to meet investors regarding a possible New Zealand residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction. Westpac New Zealand has been mandated to arrange the meetings.
The results of the eighth iteration of the KangaNews Fixed-Income Research Poll, the only independent, specialist poll of fixed-income investors' views on research in the Australian market, are supported by a record number of responses for the third consecutive year in 2018. More than 100 qualifying votes were received from institutional investors. KangaNews is pleased to reveal the full suite of 2018's winners.
Housing New Zealand (Housing NZ) (AA+) launched a domestic transaction on 31 May, seeking a minimum of NZ$100 million (US$69.9 million) in each of five- and seven-year tranches with maximum aggregate volume of NZ$500 million. ANZ and Westpac New Zealand are leading the deal, which is being marketed at 32-38 basis points over mid-swap for the five-year notes and 48-55 basis points over mid-swap for the seven-year notes. Pricing is expected by 1 June.
